A West Vancouver real estate developer and philanthropist has been named a member of the Order of British Columbia.
Ryan Beedie, president of the Beedie Group, said it was “humbling” to receive the honour, which is the province’s highest form of recognition extended to those who have excelled in any field at making the province a better place for their fellow British Columbians.
Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin announced 12 other appointments to the Order of B.C. from across the province on B.C. Day, Monday.
A press release from the B.C. government extolled Beedie, 51, for his direction in turning the Beedie Group into Western Canada’s leading industrial development company, as well as being “widely recognized as a reputable residential builder in B.C.”
Beedie’s father founded the company in 1954. Beedie has been the president of the company for the past 20 years.
It’s because of the development company’s business success that his more recent philanthropic endeavours have been able to prosper, according to Beedie.
“Without the business and the entrepreneurial success we couldn’t contribute to society in the same way as we have,” said Beedie.
Beedie started the Beedie Luminaries in 2018, a foundation tasked with using a $50-million fund to help remove barriers for students facing financial challenges.
Since the post-secondary scholarship was launched, five North Shore students – who otherwise may not have been able to attend university due to financial barriers – have had their tuitions paid for.
Eighty students from across Metro Vancouver received the scholarship in its first year and 128 received it this year, according to Beedie.
“I grew up in Burnaby in a very mixed neighbourhood,” he said. “I had a lot of friends who lived in social housing and had difficult family circumstances. They didn’t have the same opportunities that I did, quite frankly.”
Beedie and his family established the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University in 2011.
Beedie also chaired the $100-million fundraising campaign for Lions Gate Hospital’s new medical and surgical centre, which broke ground last week.
He said he was inspired to do even more following the announcement of his induction into the Order of B.C.
"I’m very grateful and appreciative of it as well,” he said. “Let’s keep going and doing more of it.”
Since its inception 31 years ago, there have been 460 British Columbians appointed to the Order of B.C.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the usual Order of B.C. investiture ceremony was postponed. This year’s recipients will be invited to a ceremony in Victoria next year, according to the release.
